Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Oh The Horror! DVD Recap: August 2013

~by Marie Robinson

Since there was a pretty hefty load of horror DVDs to hit the shelf
last month, and quite a few I wanted to check out, I took it upon myself
to watch as many as I could and give you the scoop on ‘em. Here are my
brief thoughts on the DVD releases of August…

MAGIC MAGIC

This
quiet film takes place in director Sebastian Silva’s homeland of Chile
where teenage girl Alicia is visiting her American cousin abroad. What
was supposed to be a holiday for the naïve girl turns out to be a living
nightmare where she must question if everything is real or horrifying
illusion. With splendid performances by all, this film stars Michael
Cera, Juno Temple and Emily Browning. This is a psychological thriller
that was to me impressive and unique; it really puts you in the
unraveling mind of the victim. You might even begin to feel reality slip
away… You can view a full review I wrote on Magic Magichere!

ANTIVIRAL

For as long as celebrities have
been around, people have been fascinated by them, and easily obsessed.
People will do strange things to feel connected with them; Brandon
Cronenberg’s film considers this infatuation, and imagines the lengths
that fans will go to to feel intimacy with their idols. Even though the
fact that this is the debut film of legendary director David
Cronenberg’s son is reason alone to see this film, it helps immensely
that it is interesting, beautiful, poignant and well acted by lead Caleb
Landry Jones.

MY AMITYVILLE HORROR

Everyone has
heard of The Amityville Horror—a book/movie that was inspired by the
actual slaughter of the DeFeo family in their home in New York. The
Amityville Horror is also supposedly based on facts; the family who
moved in after the murders (the Lutzs’) claimed to experience sinister
supernatural activity. This documentary by Eric Walter goes in depth
with Daniel Lutz, who was just a child at the time of the alleged
haunting. While extremely fascinating for those interested in the
hauntings, it is also a portrait of a disturbed individual who suffered
from an abusive stepfather. Even if you don’t believe in demons and
ghosts you can still enjoy this quality-made documentary—which is Eric
Walter’s debut! Check out Christine’s full review on My
Amityville Horrorhere!

AFTERSHOCK

The second film on this list to have a
Chilean director and take place there! Eli Roth lends his pen and his
acting talents to Nicolas Lopez’s disaster film, Aftershock. A group of
tourists don’t exactly get the good time abroad they are looking for
when an earthquake hits and then the whole city goes to mayhem. There’s
much for our protagonists to be worried about in this film but none of
that really makes us worried about them—they’re all douche bags! This
could have been a cool flick if it didn’t think with its dick.

HATCHET III

Bayou
butcher Victor Crowley is back for the third installment of the Hatchet
slasher films. Also returning is heroine Marybeth (Danielle Harris) and
writer Adam Green, who was penned all three films and directed the
first two. Directing for the first time is BJ McDonnell who until now
has spent all his time right behind the lens. While the film has it’s
moments both fun and gore-ific, the storyline and characters seem to be a
bit tired out. Sometimes immortality can be a curse…

NO ONE LIVES

From
the director of the Midnight Meat Train comes No One Lives, a torture
flick with a twist! A murderous group kidnaps a couple on the highway,
thinking it will be a fun, easy kill. What they don’t expect is that
they’re dealing with a villain of their own—which means they’re fucked.
Ryuhei Kitamura seems to know how to make a jolly good slasher flick,
with substance to boot! I enjoyed No One Lives; it brings something a
little different to the formulaic plot of torture films.

RAPTURE-PALOOZA

This
comedy by Paul Middleditch makes a mockery of the Rapture foretold in
the Bible, following a young couple and their families as they struggle
to survive and adapt to Hell on Earth. With a pretty solid cast (Anna
Kendrick, Craig Robinson, John Francis Daley to name a few) you’d think
it’d be a fun flick—at least I did. However, almost all of the jokes
fall flat—it seems like the writers were trying to hard to fit a
punch
line into every line of dialogue instead of coming up with quality
material. Save yourself from eternal damnation and leave this one on the
shelves.

Well, I hope this was somewhat helpful and
informative for you guys! I had fun watching these films, even if I
didn’t necessarily enjoy all of them. I like to make it a point to stay
current with what is going on in the horror cinema world. I’m guessing
you probably do too, since you are reading this…
The ones I
didn’t get to were Do Not Disturb, 5 Souls, Jack the Reaper, Zombie
Massacre, Evidence, American Ghost Story, Alyce Kills, Among Friends, A
Resurrection, and Ritual. Let me know if you have seen any of these, and
if you have any thoughts on them or the ones I talked about!

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Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent...

We Wrote That:

*Christine Hadden is the creator, editor, and head writer of Fascination with Fear and has been an obsessed horror fan for longer than many of her readers have been alive. She can overlook movie plot holes in exchange for style and atmosphere, rejects both the 3D and found footage phenomenons, values high gore content when done right, prefers practical effects over CGI, and has an undying love of vampires. She considers Norman Bates her homeboy and claims Jaws as her favorite film. She has written for Fangoria and Paracinema magazines and is currently a staff writer for Eli Roth's new horror app: The Crypt. She enjoys Jim Beam and red wine. But not together.

Contributing Writer

*Marie Robinson is an aspiring folklore expert, published writer, and obvious old soul from St. Louis, MO. She considers Roman Polanski one of her favorite directors, The Sentinel among the scariest of films she's seen, and has read both Algernon Blackwood and M.R. James - making her wise beyond her years. In her spare time, she enjoys wandering through misty cemeteries, seeking knowledge and proof of paranormal activity, and prepping her next frightening short story. Besides Fascination with Fear, she contributes to Destroy the Brain and Eli Roth's The Crypt.